For Nick, the following days passed at a snail's pace. Even though he was constantly accompanied by at least one guardspony everywhere he went, he didn’t engage in conversation with any of them for any length of time.
Nick’s routine was the same throughout the week. Wake up, have breakfast, read in the library, sit with Will in the infirmary, have lunch in the garden, read some more, have dinner, return to Will, then go to bed. It wasn’t the most exciting experience, but at least this place’s history was quite something. Stories and legends of old here on Equis reminded Nick of a bunch of the classic fantasy books back on earth. Maybe that had something to do with the abundance of magic in the tomes he had found.
Since his first day in the Everfree Castle, Nick hadn’t been invited to second tea time with Celestia, although that probably had more to do with the crowds of ponies flocking to meet with her. Given what Nick overheard from the petitioners, remaining hidden, of course, an unknown creature dragging a bleeding body through the streets of a village surrounded by guards stirs up quite a bit of panic.
That definitely wasn’t Nick… totally not him. What gave you that idea?
If Nick wasn’t mistaken, today marked the eighth day Will had been unconscious for. It was these moments sitting with Will that offered Nick a small break from the constant vigilance of the guards. Nick’s stomach full of the salad and fruits he had for dinner, he watched while his friend slept. Candlelight flickered in the small side room Will had been moved to. A simple washbasin sat on a wooden table along one wall, along with various rudimentary medical supplies, which mainly boiled down to the thread, needles, bandages, herbs, and whatnot. It wasn’t long until one of the healer ponies came knocking before letting herself in.
“Good evening,” She said politely as she entered. Mending Stitch, a simple unicorn with a tan coat and brown mane tied in a bun, lit her horn, and magically closed behind her with her signature white aura. Among the three healers that served in the castle, Mending was the mare that tended to Will’s bandages the most.
“Good evening.” Nick’s reply was mostly without feeling. Currently, his mind was elsewhere, eyes focused mainly on the now sunken features of Will’s face, cheekbones easily seen underneath his skin. ‘Come on Will, you gotta wake up sometime!’ Mending worked around Nick, checking Will's pulse, doing some sort of medical scan with her magic, and replacing dirty bandages. All the while speaking softly to herself. Nick was so lost in his head that he didn't see Mending looking at him over her shoulder, a soft smile on her lips.
“It’s sweet, you know?”
Startled from Mending’s voice being directed towards him, Nick jumped in his chair in the corner.
“Sorry, what was that?” Nick’s response garnered a giggle from the unicorn mare as she returned to her work.
“What you’ve done for your friend here, it’s sweet. Not to mention heroic if you don’t mind me saying.”
“Elaborate.”
“Well, you carried him through miles of jungle, through town with guards pointing their spears at your throat, and then waltzed right into the castle.”
“Yeah, no offense to Celestia, but her security could do with a bit of an overhaul,” Nick chuckled.
“Don’t let Hurricane hear you say that. She’ll have your head, and I don’t think even Celestia could stop her,” Mending giggled. “Regardless, even though he is asleep, you still sit with your friend twice a day. I can’t think of many ponies outside of family that would do that for me.”
Nick’s attention turned to Will again, thinking for a moment.
“He’d do it for me, it’s the least I can do.”
“You two must be pretty close then.’
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Mending, having replaced some of Will’s bandages, levitated the old ones away, moving over to the washbasin to wash her hooves before checking the stitches on Will’s leg.
“What is he like?”
Nick hummed to himself, returning his attention to Will’s healer.
“Well, he’s not boring at least. He’s kind of a weird one. Good with a pencil, and a guitar. He’s kinda… how do I wanna put it? Skittish? Excitable? He likes to worry about the little things too much, but he’ll stick by you. He can put fears aside to get stuff done.”
“High praise. If he’s as you say, I can’t wait to meet him.”
A slight groan and shuffling of sheets interrupted Nick’s reply. “You know it’s impolite to talk about someone like they’re not in the room right?” Will hoarsely whispered from his cot. Nick stood from his chair so suddenly it toppled backward as he moved to Will’s bedside.
“Well hey there Sleeping Beauty!”
“Hey yourself, man. Ohhh fuck I feel like death.”
“Well I’d be worried if you didn’t,” Mending spoke up, returning to the bedside. “You’ve been asleep for nearly eight days.
Will squinted in the dim light, trying to see who spoke.
“Hey, Nick? Do you have my glasses?”
“Oh yeah, here,” Nick cleaned the lenses with his shirt the best he could, placing the glasses on the bridge of Will’s nose. “Better?”
“Much, thanks.” Will turned his head to the side, eyes widening as he made eye contact with Mending for the first time. “Oh… right. The princess wasn’t lying. Talking horses. Fuck.”
“Ponies actually, my name is Mending Stitch, I’m the healer that has been tending to you since your condition stabilized.”
Will lifted his arm from underneath the sheet covering him, shakily extending a hand to the mare. Mending looked at Will’s outstretched hand slightly confused.
“He wants to shake your hoof, Mending,” Nick spoke up. “Don’t worry Will, Princess Celestia had the same reaction when I tried kissing hers.”
“Celestia, I thought her name was Luna?”
“Ah, so you’ve met Princess Luna,” Mending said.
“In my dreams, yeah.”
“Well, Princess Celestia is Princess Luna’s sister. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough. Speaking of which, I should notify her that you are awake. Nick, keep Will company while I gather the princesses.” With that, Mending left the two humans to themselves, leaving the door ajar as she hurried off. Will sighed, coughed to clear his throat and looked back to Nick.
“So…”
“Yeah.”
“Ponies?”
“Yep.”
The two humans lapsed into a short period of silence.
“Dungeons?”
“Yep.”
“Giant alligators?”
“Among other things.”
…
…
“Nick, what sort of fucked up, horse themed session of D&D did we land in?”
“I’ve been asking that same question for the past week.”
Will shuffled slightly, wincing as his wounded leg shifted underneath the blankets. “Fuck, I was out for that long? How bad is it?”
“Oh, your feeling ghost pains, Mending said those should pass within a couple of months. The amputation went off without a hitch though.”
“What!?” Will rocketed up, sitting straight, eyes wide in terror. Which also caused the bandages on his chest to shift. “God damn ow!”
“Calm down Will, I’m joking.”
“Jesus Christ, Nick, not funny. Ow.” Will’s hand subconsciously rubbed at the pain coming from his chest. “Seriously, what’s the damage?”
“According to what Mending told me, a broken femur, two broken ribs, open wounds on your chest, severe blood loss, and malnourishment. Their magic has been keeping you alive, but they don't have intravenous transfusion technology, they had no way of feeding you other than forcing what they could through your throat.”
“Sounds like I’ll be bedridden for a couple of days huh?” Will slowly lowered himself back onto the bed, wincing as aches and pains screamed in protest.
“Probably a couple of weeks at the minimum, and even then you’ll need to work on that leg of yours.”
“Huh. I wonder what pony physical therapy is like.” Will’s chuckles came out breathy as if he knew a full laugh would puncture a lung.
The two humans lapsed into a comfortable silence, both lost in thought.
‘I wonder, depending on how powerful the magic these ponies have is, could they have brought us here?’ Nick thought to himself, looking to the door Mending had left slightly ajar. ‘Can they send us back?’
Will stared up at the ceiling, with an internal yearning to go back to sleep, but also the need to stay awake to meet this second princess. ‘Ma and Dad are probably worried sick right now. How the fuck am I going to explain any of this to them when we get back. And… Oh shit, I hope the Dungeons and Dragons crew isn’t too worried.”
Both Nick and Will’s heads snapped to the doorway as Mending entered, holding the door open for two much larger ponies. Both humans gave small smiles as Celestia and Luna entered the room. Celestia stepped forward first, approaching Will’s bedside.
“Well, it seems like you’re finally awake! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance William,” Celestia said, offering a hoof, which Will promptly shook, and then gave it a small kiss, remembering Nick saying that he did the same. At the same time, she glanced at Nick with a knowing nod. “I am Princess Celestia Solaire, ruler of Equestria.”
“William Thorne. I’d bow, but as you can see,” Will chuckled as he motioned to his wounded form. “I’m a bit immobile at the moment.” He looked to the other side of the bed, where Luna was approaching.
“It is good to see thou in the waking world William.”
“Good to see you in the flesh as well, Princess Luna.” He gave Luna the same hoof kissing treatment.
“We won’t stay long, as I am sure you are wanting your rest,” Celestia said. “We just wanted to meet you formally at the moment. We’ll have time to discuss later.” This grabbed Nick’s attention, who was, up until this point, content to let Will have the attention of the royal sisters.
“Good, I’ve had a few questions on my mind.” Nick’s words caused Celestia to turn to face him.
“I know, but this is why you and I haven’t interacted since we shared tea. I wanted to have both of you present before we talked about your situation further.”
“Makes sense,” Will said from his cot. “I take it you will be there as well, Princess Luna?”
Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Luna was quicker to the draw. “We shall be there. Thine predicament has become quite intriguing and We cannot help to be anything but curious. That and to offer our services as need be.”
“Regardless, Luna and I will let you rest. We can talk more tomorrow William,” Celestia said, making for the door.
“Rest well William, thou shall find rest to be the best medicine,” Luna said, falling into step behind her sister.”
“I’ll come to check on you tomorrow morning,” Mending smiled from over her shoulder, following the princesses out.
Nick waited for a moment, getting another glance at Will’s body.
“Thanks, by the way,” Will said.
“For?”
“Oh you know, saving my fucking life,” A thankful smile crossed Will’s tired features.
Nick placed a hand on the doorframe, looking back at Will over his shoulder, a similar grin on Nick’s lips. “Don’t mention it. Now get some rest. Princess’ orders.”
“Night, man.”
After the door closed, Will was left to himself in the dimly lit room. In the relative silence, Will closed his eyes, and in mere moments, slipped off into his personal mental playground.